A Busman’s Holiday for a Photographer

I’ve often said all my photography is client driven. From food to vehicles, roomsets to fashion, products to bridal brochures, it was always to realise someone else’s vision. Which is great.

I love being able to bring someone’s vision and aspirations to life, it’s incredibly satisfying. The downside of being busy is the lack of opportunity to shoot purely for fun. You kind of lose the drive to do so. Picking a camera up becomes the start of a working day. I had all but forgotten the fun of chasing an elusive idea with a camera and flash, seeing what might develop, or not, as the case may be.

I’ve mentioned Hazel before, in particular with regards to the shoot I did a while ago to prove that lighting was more important than the capture equipment, and gain with the boudoir shoot. Hazel is one of those characters that can’t help prodding the hornet’s nest. Hornet’s nest? Well, yeah. That’d be me when I get grumpy after a run of four weeks working without a day off.

Any of you starting to squint at the screen and think a shoot isn’t a day off? Well, any day not shooting to someone else’s direction or requirements is a day off. And besides, a day in the studio with Hazel skipping about poking fun at me is hardly going to be classed as work, believe me!

So, this is Hazel, who will likely kill me for posting this image, because she’s now a health nut. Running every day and spending time in the gym and very, very slim.

Consequently, once Hazel sees this, it may be my last post ever!

So, let’s get to the lighting. Very simple and straight forward. The backdrop is a black paper backdrop that is down to the floor, and a good fifteen feet behind Hazel. This ensures it remains black, and isn’t inadvertently contaminated by any light spillage which would create a charcoal grey rather than black.

Frame left and beyond Hazel, there is an Elinchrom ELB400 firing through a honeycombed stripbox at an output of 3.5. This provides the accent light seen along her headdress, face and chest. It also provides the light skimming across her skirt, providing texture and shape.

A second accent light is positioned frame right and beyond Hazel. Again, it’s another ELB400 firing through a honeycombed stripbox at an output of 3.5, providing accent lighting to her arm skirt and the large bow on the back of her outfit.

The keylight is another ELB400 firing at 4.5 through a honeycombed 80x80cm folding softbox to my immediate left, at a height of seven feet and angled down towards Hazel’s mid-section.